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"Great horror novel"

During World War II in the Four-Corner region of New Mexico, state policeman Lee Nez got involved in a shoot-out with German spies intent on stealing plutonium. Lee was able to get the plutonium and bury it, but a German going by the name of Hans Gruber is intent of retrieving the stolen goods. When Lee refuses to hand it over, he kills Lee and then revives the cop as a vampire. Lee still refuses to give up what he buried and eventually Hans disappear.

Lee visits a shaman who uses magic to turn him into a half vampire so that with sun block he can walk outside in daylight. During the next fifty years, Lee tries to find Hans while fighting skinwalkers, Navaho witches who can assume the shape of an animal. They want his blood to gain immortality. Finally, Lee locates the former Nazi, using the name Major Wolfgang Muller who is assigned with other NATO officers at Ft. Wingate. Teaming up with a beautiful FBI agent, Lee intends to go after the major and make sure he kills him in a way that he won't rise again.

Aimee and David Thurlo are well known for their mystery novels but fans of the authors should try SECOND SUNRISE because they write horror tales that are as good as their police procedurals. Likewise horror aficionados should read the mysteries as well. The hero gains instant sympathy for his plight and the audience will adore him because he tries so hard to be a good person. Based on actual Navaho legends, horror fans will be very pleased with this refreshingly unique work and hope there are future novels starring Lee.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted October 15, 2002

Sixty years ago New Mexico patrolman Lee Nez and his partner foiled the hijacking of an American military convoy transporting nuclear material. At the end of the firefight, all of the soldiers and Lee's partner were dead-and Lee's life was forever transformed. Now a nightwalker, the Navajo equivalent of a vampire, Lee lives with one foot in the human world and one in a world full of monsters. In 2002, Lee Nez is a cop again, now known as Leonard Hawk. His more-than-human abilities have made him the target of murderous Navajo witches-skinwalkers- who want his powers for themselves. When cool, capable FBI agent Diane Lopez questions Lee about an incident on the Navajo Reservation, Lee can't tell her than the people he killed that night were skinwalkers out for his blood.

Lee and Diane are attacked by a wolf pack. Diane is stunned when the wolf she shoots shapeshifts into a woman before dying. On the run, Lee tells Diane of his true nature-and that he is convinced the vampire who made him one of the undead has returned to New Mexico in the guise of German Air Force pilot Wolfgang Muller. Muller has been much too close to the place where Lee hid the plutonium six decades ago-a trap for the vampire, set with the inhuman patience of a nightwalker.

Using police and FBI resources as well as Navajo healing magics and his own supernatural powers, Lee and Diane hunt for Muller and his undead offspring. Muller was to sell the nuclear material to the highest bidder-what does he care if some humans blow up some other humans, as long as he can find fresh sources of blood? When Muller takes Diane captive, Lee swears he won't lose another partner to the vampire's evil.

Second Sunrise is the first in a series of novels featuring Lee Nez, an undead hero who lives in a world where magic and monsters are all too real. The Thurlos' skill at evoking of Southwestern settings and Navajo philosophies and lifestyles combines with their ability to create strong plots and solid characters in this fast-paced, action- filled story of supernatural suspense.